-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com welcome to nhk world "newsline." i'm gene otani in tokyo. here's a look at some of the stories we're following this hour. oh officials from north korea and south korea say they need more time to negotiate as they work on re-opening a symbol of cross-border cooperation. supporters of ousted egyptian president morsi have rejected a call to join a caretaker government. and voting for a better life.

survivors of the 2011 disaster in japan want candidates to make good on promises to rebuild. officials from north korea and south korea need more time to negotiate an agreement to re-open an industrial zone they control. they have held more dugs about the industrial complex. authorities in pyongyang suspended operations there three months ago during a period of heightened tensions. >> translator: we will do our very best to get the kaesong industrial complex operational again. >> a south korean delegation went to north korea for talks. managers of firms in the complex went awe long, too. they inspected the facilities at the park. they say most of the factories are in the same state as before the suspension. but they say they found water leaks in some areas and humidity caused some precision machinery to rust.

>> it is expected to take three to four weeks. >> they asked to prevent further shut downs but they haven't agreed on the issue. the talks are scheduled to resume next monday. egyptians who support ousted president morsi are shrugging off the country's military-backed leadership. they are refusing an invitation to join a caretaker government. they say they won't cooperate with what they call a coup. adly mansour has started choosing members of his caretaker government. that set off supporters of the ousted government of morsi. they appointed him as interim prime minister. he said he will offer posts to those capable of handling the jobs. officials of the freedom and

justice party say they have no intention of working with those who helped the military coup. the party is the political wing of the muslim brothered hood. supporters of the ousted president continued protests in the capital cairo on wednesday. the first day of the fasting month. military leaders overthrew morsi. husband supporters faced off against security forces in the days suns. they say soldiers opened fire monday at a gathering outside the army barracks where morsi is believed to be held. still, members of the muslim brotherhood say they will stay on oh the streets until morsi is returned to power. the united states has refrained from taking sides but president obama has spoken to egypt's neighbors who have influence over the country. obama and two of oh his allies in the region discussed ways to restore peace in egypt. obama spoke by phone to crown prince mohammed bin zayed al

nahyan and emir sheikh tamin bin hamad al thani. obama told them violence is unaccept bable. he said it's essential all parties join in the political process. to bring stability back to egypt. investigators probing the cash of flight 214 are zeroing in on a possible cause. they plan to examine the jet's speed control device to see if it was working properly. the boeing 777 crash landed at san francisco international airport and burst into flames. two chinese students died. emergency crews took more than 180 people the to the hospital. one of the pilots has said the automatic throttle was set for landing. the device is used for controlling the speed. but the plane was flying slower than it should have. investigators say they will analyze the flight recorder to see why the speed wasn't right. >> one of the very critical

things that needs to be monitored on an approach to landing is speed. and so we need to understand what was going on in the cockpit and also what was going on with the aircraft. >> the tnsb chair says it is too early to say whether human error or mechanical fault caused the crash. a south korean court ordered a japanese steel maker to pay compensation to workers for forced labor during japan's colonial rule. the firm will appeal to a higher court and claims the issue was settled by a 1965 agreement. four former workers have filed a lawsuit seeking compensation from nipon steel and somimoto metal saying they were forced to work at steel mills from 1940 through 1945. on wednesday the court order erred the company to pay about

$90,000 to each oh of the four plaintiffs. it was the first ruling of its kind in south korea or japan. >> translator: i never even dreamed that we would win the lawsuits. we really appreciate all our supporters. >> the japanese government interprets an agreement with south korea during treaty talks that normalized relations in 1965. means that the issue of post war compensation was fully resolved. a ruling last year by south korea's supreme court said that the right to seek compensation against the japanese steelmakers was not invalidated by the treaty. japan's supreme court maintains that individuals no longer have the right to seek compensation. japan's top government spokesperson says japan cannot accept the south korean court's ruling. >> translator: the japanese government's position is the issue of seeking compensation was settled by the 1965 agreement. >> suga said japan will make its

stance clear to south carolina through diplomatic channels. japanese officials are learning about new technology the hard way. they made private documents accessible to the public by mistake. some government workers used google groups system for sharing information online. the officials from the environment ministry said they failed to make their documents private. they said someone outside the ministry told them about the error. public users were able to see information such as notes from negotiations with swiss and norwegian officials. they were discussing mercury trade at a u.n. conference. >> translator: the minister has instructed all officials to check on information security regarding the hardware and software. >> personnel from at least five other government agencies made the same mistake. investigators are checking to see if any vital information was made available.

japanese prime minister shinzo abe has spent his first six months in office working to revitalize the economy. voters will soon have a chance to judge him on the results. they cast ballots in an upper house election later this month. opposition parties hold the majority of seats in the chamber. abe and his liberal democratic party aim to wrestle back control. in the days leading up to when japan decides, we'll be looking at some key campaign issues and hearing from voters about what matters to them. candidates from these nine parties are running in the election. these groups qualified for political party status. they include long established parties and others that were recently founded. several groups that failed to meet the standards are still fielding candidates. in all, 433 candidates, including independents, are running in this election. an issue that has come up as

a priority with voters in poll after poll is post-disaster recovery. nearly 300,000 people from northeastern japan are still considered evacuees more than two years after the earthquake and tsunami ravaged their communities. many of them are frustrated with the pace of restoration efforts. when they vote, they'll be casting ballots for the party they feel will give them their lives back. >> reporter: temporary housing units are part of the land scam in yamada. the town's 17,000 residents live this way. the 65-year-old and his wife have stayed in this cramped space since 2011. the unit has low ceilings and thin walls that offer little

insulation. >> translator: in this housing, it's extremely hot in summer and really cold in winter and it's so confined. >> reporter: prime minister abe made disaster reconstruction among his top priorities. his administration has increased spending over the next three years by 30%. to $250 billion. but people in the northeast who lost homes are frustrated. they say the rebuilding process has been too slow. many people in yamada can't construct their homes where they used to be. municipal authorities are moving communities to higher ground in case of future tsunami. so they also need to create new residential plots by flattening

mountains and banking up rivers. they say people won't be able to start rebuilding for at least two years. >> translator: i'd like them to construct new residential places earlier and temporary housing. some elderly people have already died. we want to move to normal homes as soon as possible. >> reporter: he wonders how he'll pay to rebuild his home. the tsunami destroyed a boat repairing company he worked for, along with ports and many boats. he only has a part-time job now. he qualifies for about $50,000 in public assistance. but the national average housing price is almost four times that. he and his wife want politicians to know people in the northeast

are desperate to get their lives back. >> translator: i want all the political parties to get together to help rebuild disaster-hit communities sooner so that we can live in our houses again. >> reporter: karino and many others want the reconstruction effort to produce results. he hopes this will be the last election he watches from temporary housing. chei yamaguchi, nhk world, japan. we'll look at a number of different issues ahead of the upper house election. our coverage continues on thursday. many people in japan held demonstrations against nuclear power following the accident in fukushima. we'll find out why that spirit of protest has faded. >> prime minister shinzo abe has worked to reshape japan's

economy and get back to growth. now he's setting his sights on amending the constitution. but his party must make a strong showing in this month's upper house election so it can push its policies forward. less than a year after putting abe in power, japanese voters have a chance to judge him on his record. don't miss our special coverage leading up to the july 21st election right here on "newsline." china's consumers are buying more cars. new auto sales between january and june reached a record high for a half-year period and topped ten million units for the first time. a chinese awesome association says new vehicle sales in june rose 11.2% from a year ago. the rise pushed up the half-year total to 10.8 million units, up by 12.3% compared to a year earlier. despite slower growth in the chinese economy the auto industry enjoys brisk demand.

the popularity of sport utility vehicles helped boost total sales. taiwan and new zealand signed an accord to abolish tariffs on all items they frad. it's the first free trade treaty with a country with which it has no diplomatic ties. taiwan hopes that the deal will boost electronic equipment. new zealand hopes to sell more dairy products and beef. taiwan's government hopes to use the latest accords as a steppingstone for entering talks on an fta with more countries as well as the trans pacific partnership. the revving of motor bike engines is being replaced with the hum of lech troin motorcycles. chinese awesome have virtually cornered the market. now a japanese firm is combining the love of oh electric bikes

and smartphones to try to catch up. here are the details. our motivation is to develop a motor bike that exists nowhere else in the world. a japanese venture firm introduced the latest electric motorcycle on wednesday. like so many other things these days, this motorcycle can interact with a smart phone. so owners can link up with the bike to find out whether to charge it and to check how much energy its using and to see all kinds of statistics on their ride. the venture firm engineers are developing a variety of applications with the cooperation of other companies. they say these navigation systems and other applications

not only provide information to drivers but collect their data as well through cloud computing. they think the data can be used for urban planning, reducing congestion, and other purposes such as targeted advertising. the venture firm has its eye on southeastern asian countries and india. the fast growing economies there are enabling more people to buy motor bikes. the executives of the company say concerns other air pollution and rising fuel prices will help the growth of electric vehicles. chinese bikes now dominate the market. they're cheap but are said to be low quality. so the japanese firm plans to

differentiate its product from its chinese competitors using its high technology and stylish design as selling points. but the hurdle is the price. it sells initial models at around $4,500. >> the highest price in india is $1,000 to $1,500. the cost difference is much higher. >> translator: we need to make an effort to offer products at a reasonable price eventually. we aim to release a model that is affordable to the majority of people in emerging countries in a couple of years. >> reporter: the executives expect the new model to make inroads into emerging economies. they want to appeal to customers that when it comes to the latest technology, japanese products once again lead the way. nhk world, tokyo. here are the latest market figures.

the mood isn't what it used to be. the number of elephants available in festivals as seen a decline prompting a village to craft a replacement. nhk world reports. this is sri lanka's traditional festival.

the procession in the local language. people parade on the streets wishing for plentiful job before rice planting season. at the tail end of the procession is an elephant. on its back stands a religious casket normally kept at a temple. >> elephants are the symbol of rain clouds. we believe the festival will bring the blessing of rain. the festival isn't complete without an elephant. >> it's getting harder to find an elephant for the festival. most festival elephants are supplied by asians. 15 years ago agents had about 500 elephants to rent out. that number has suns dropped to 140.

many elephants are getting old and falling sick. four of every ten are no longer fit for work. >> most of the elephants -- domesticated elephants are old age now. we can't you them. >> in 1975, the sri lanka government acted to protect wild elephants by imposing a hunting ban. all the elephants were caught before the ban came into effect. come festival season, people around the country scrambled to find an elephant. this village has gone without for several years. >> it's a difficulty.

>> the festival in this village has a history dating back 80 years. for three months the villages has been discussing what to do. they decide to make their own. using mostly recycled materials keeps the cost to about $10. the price is low, but their effort is high. the elephant's ears and neck are movable. >> the head is made with steel pipes and bamboo. >> he can't wait for the 8-year-old son to see the festival and understand the bond sri lanka's buddhists have with elephan

elephants. >> translator: i have never seen an elephant at the festival. >> i want to teach the importance of elephants to my children's generation. >> the day of the village festival arrived and there is an elephant in the parade for the first time in three years. laksiri rides on top with pride. it doesn't matter to him that it was manmade. >> translator: even though there weren't real elephants i was happy an artificial one like this could take part. >> if we hadn't honored the tradition and used only dancerses our children, the future generation, wouldn't know how elephants are supposed to be a part of the festival. >> awarenesses of wild life conservation is growing in sri lanka. if the country can keep the cultural traditions and preserve its natural heritage that would

be something to celebrate. nhk world. a very strong typhoon is headed toward japan's southern islands. rachel ferguson from the weather team is here with the details on that. >> this is now a potent storm indeed. right here you can see the eye clearly. you will zoom in on the satellite picture so you can see how organized and powerful this system is. it is at the moment a very strong typhoon. that's the category here in the west pacific. it is expected to become a violent typhoon. the next step up in the next 24 hours and just to give you an idea if you are more familiar with the hurricane scale that would be a category three hurricane. it is a very powerful system just getting ready to move

across the southern japanese islands. as you can see, taiwan is next in the line of fire. beyond that we could see a second landfall in southeastern china over the weekend. what we are going to be seeing here is rough seeas. you could see waves up to seven meters as well as flooding rains and destructive winds on land. already the winds are sustained at 180 kilometers per hour with gusts over 250. so a very dangerous and powerful system here. there is more rain up towards the north. it''s been a little bit more persistent. all of the rain from northern japan across the korean peninsula focused on north korea there and into northern china. this has been falling for the last several days. to the tune of about 50 to 100 or 200 millimeters a day in some places. it's falling on saturated land. that will up the risk of flooding. just below that we have a high keeping things hot and dry.

that will be the story for the next few days as well. strong high pressure system here keeping things hot. tokyo tomorrow at 34. 37 in shanghai. 36 in chongquing. let's talk about chantal, headed toward the caribbean. it's going to be weakening. it's already weakened off. the winds at 75 kilometers per hour. that's good news. we have tropical storm warnings for puerto rico and the bahamas. we'll see the system headed up toward florida over the weekend. but whether it's going to be a weaker system, fall apart we are not sure now. so keeping a close eye on oh out. you are certainly going to see significant rainfall and it will be windy, too. do keep looking at those

broadcasts for your vicinity as well. all right. into the bigger picture here we have the heavy rain targeting eastern portion ohs of canada from quebec down to the southeast. we have a few systems making things wet. storms could turn severe all the way from the northeast down into the central plains here. that's just stretching into the eastern tip of the four corners. severe weather. that could mean golf ball-sized hail, gusts up to 100 kilometers per hour. of course the rain as well. tornadoes aren't out of the question. looking very unsettled across much of the u.s. and eastern canada here. i will bring you the temperatures. i want to show you what's been happening in europe. it's quite a settled picture. once again you are seeing thunderstorms through the mediterranean. they will be short-lived but intense. meanwhile we have a low oh moving through the northeast bringing temperatures down a little bit. warsaw seeing 27. the upper 20s on wednesday.

down to 22 degrees and you've got the showers coming in as well. here is your extended forecast.

>> that's "newsline" this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo.

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♪ from the four winds and the scent of the earth come the color of the seasons. exploring the four seasons of japan. the dancing waves, the shining sun. this is shonan, the beach which continues to fascinate the young people.